


Baby Brother

by BastardPrince



Series: Gansey Week 2019 [1]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Gansey Week 2019, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Protective Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-13 06:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20169412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BastardPrince/pseuds/BastardPrince
Summary: When Helen had seen Gansey; every visible inch of skin swollen and covered in hornet stings, trembling, and breathing raggedly; she had barely contained the urge to run up to him and make sure that he was well and truly alive.---A glimpse at the Gansey siblings’ relationship.





	Baby Brother

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: out of time / live forever / love you 'til the very end

Helen Gansey will always remember the day that her baby brother almost died. Or rather, the day he had died and come back to life.

She stood in the grass with her father, watching as the paramedics loaded Gansey into an ambulance. They allowed only Mrs. Gansey to accompany them. Mr. Gansey held his daughter’s hand, partly to keep her from trying to climb into the ambulance with her brother and partly to appear fatherly in front of the other partygoers.

When Helen had seen Gansey; every visible inch of skin swollen and covered in hornet stings, trembling, and breathing raggedly; she had barely contained the urge to run up to him and make sure that he was well and truly alive. After all, Gansey is hers. Her brother. And in some ways, her baby.

There was never a question if their parents loved them, but both of the elder Ganseys were very career-oriented, so Helen and Richard had often been left in the charge of nannies. The children were never lacking for food or supervision or activities, but Helen took it upon herself to raise Gansey in their parents’ absence.

She taught him everything of importance: how to braid hair and paint fingernails, how to feed the koi in the pond out back, and how to build elaborate blanket forts. In recent years, she had taught him how to corroborate her alibis when she snuck out at night with her friends.

The ambulance barrels away from Helen and towards the hospital, lights flashing and sirens wailing. The party ends, as is only proper in the event of a near-death.

Helen goes home with her father.

* * *

Late that night, Mrs. Gansey returns with an exhausted Gansey in tow.

Helen had waited up for them, but Gansey goes straight to his room and shuts the door firmly behind him.

“Good night, darling,” Mrs. Gansey says and kisses her daughter’s temple as she walks by.

And that’s that.

Everything is supposed to be normal again.

Helen doesn’t sleep that night. She sits on her chaise longue fuming all night. She is absolutely devastated, but no one is asking about her feelings on the matter.

And very soon, no one is even asking about Gansey’s.

Everyone seems to have moved on from the incident, sporadically “that dreadful affair with the hornets” comes up and Gansey is called upon to confirm his soundness of mind and body. And then conversation moves on.

But Helen knows the truth.

Their parents might be out all night at campaign events, but Helen is there to see Gansey’s trauma. She's there when Gansey stops whatever he's doing and dissociates, re-enacting his death in disturbing detail. She's there when a trembling, tearful Gansey comes into her room in the middle of the night and asks if he can stay with her.

Helen becomes even more protective of Gansey. She worries that the universe will change its mind and take back Gansey’s life. That one day he will simply be snuffed out and disappear. That the borrowed time he’s living on will run out.

So, Helen arms herself with all the requisite knowledge to annihilate anyone that threatens Gansey’s well-being. Since murder and disfiguration are generally frowned upon, she resigns herself to obliterating the social standing of anyone who poses the merest threat.

To avoid suspicion, Helen tells her mother that she does background checks on all of Gansey’s acquaintances to prevent any unsightly associations that could damage Mrs. Gansey’s political campaign.

Mrs. Gansey believes it and thanks Helen for her dedication.

Helen does not feel even a little bit bad for lying.

After all, Gansey is her baby brother and she will love him until the very end.


End file.
